Backpacks are being used extensively by a wide variety of people and for a wide range of activities. They can be seen every day in urban, suburban, and rural areas and are used by people from all walks of life. Some of the most common users of backpacks include school children, hikers, campers, bicyclists, travelers, skiers, and snowboarders, with each user using the backpack for a different purpose. School children utilize backpacks to carry their books, lunches, school supplies, and sports gear while hikers and campers use backpacks to carry clothing, food, water, and camping supplies.
The universal use of backpacks is partly due to it being an inexpensive and effective means to carry goods by an individual person. As a result, there are many variations of backpacks to fit the individual person's needs. The sizes of the backpacks vary in size from small to large. Some have multiple compartments, some have internal or external frames, some have padding, and some have liquid-carrying bladders. Many have multiple ways to adjust to the wearer's body. Additionally, they come in all sorts of colors and patterns. Most backpacks effectively distribute the load of the goods contained in the backpack to the wearer's shoulders and waist, making it relatively comfortable to carry the items for reasonable periods of time.
Despite their popularity and usefulness, however, backpacks have certain disadvantages. It is difficult and uncomfortable to sit on a chair or bench with a backpack on. This is a common complaint of skiers and snowboarders, who must ride on chair-lifts many, many times in the course of a day on the slopes. Often the skier or snowboarder will sit way forward on the seat to allow room for the backpack, sitting in an awkward and possibly dangerous position. Alternatively, they will remove the backpack and hold it in his or her hands while dealing with the ski lift, gloves, ski poles, and other associated equipment. This also introduces the risk of dropping the pack and its contents. Additionally, people sitting on a bus or a bench, such as urban travelers and school children must remove their backpacks to sit or keep the backpack on and sit in an uncomfortable manner.
Furthermore, it is difficult or impossible to access the contents of a backpack without first removing it. To access the contents, the backpack must be removed and set on the ground or elsewhere, or the user must hold it in one hand while accessing the contents with the other hand. Additionally, a person on a bicycle would have to stop and remove their backpack to access the contents of the backpack as well.
In light of the above, it would be advantageous to provide a pack which allows a user to access the contents of the pack without the need to remove the pack from the user's body. It would further be advantageous to provide a pack which could be worn by a user and have the ability to quickly and easily transition between the back of the user and the front of the user.